Clean shaven in summer. Bearded in winter. Prickly year round.
My tour de force for the upcoming week, a feat requiring great virtuosity and skill, will be the tossing of these shoes into the garbage. For this child of a hoarder, such matters are handled with gravity. In the end I’ll have an exhilarating victory. Perhaps they still have a little life left in them, … More You can take the boy out of the hoarder, but not the hoarder out of the boy
We did not intend to hoard the feces, but once a home gets beyond a certain point in terms of filth, you cease to be repulsed. It was simply our reality. Our situation had become so bad that Mom and I cleaned the house in a near panic the day the assessor came to inspect … More Child of Hoarder “Wolf Boy” Finds Path to Full Humanity
Anything worthwhile, literally anything, requires serious effort. Here my family and I are returning from obtaining a bucket of clear, cold, and fresh, spring water during our stay at the Lily Pond cabin in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Each journey to obtain the precious drink involved … More Anything Worthwhile Requires Effort. Amazing Vacation at the Lily Pond Cabin in the Fabulous Porcupine Mountains.
Unemployed. Cut loose. Sacked. At liberty. In between work. Job seeker. Jobless. Wage-free. Laid off. Let go. Transitioning. Writer.Each of these describe my current situation, but terrifying says it best. Henry David Thoreau, in his grand experiment at Walden Pond, sought to “drive life into a corner,” and reduce it to its simplest terms. He … More Unemployed and Boiling Life Down to the Basics
This cabin guards entry into the United States. It lies a literal stone’s throw from the Canadian border, and is my private home away from home. I call it “The Pigeon,” because it lies on the famously historic Pigeon River near Grand Portage, Minnesota. It is very difficult to travel to, but once you’re in … More My Secret Cabin Deep in the Wilderness
It was a BBC day. Hitting all three critical areas is essential for the unemployed, and keeps spirits high. Brains Brawn Commerce All three are vital. At 5:00 am I arose to nearly complete chapter 9 of my upcoming book, which is about growing up in a crazy house filled to the brim due to … More Alex Laveau and Munger Trail Extravaganza! Also, BBC is the best rx for the unemployed.
Two powerful assets for parents are lists and friends. As hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water, so these two tools may be amalgamated in the lifetime battle against what bestselling author Richard Louv describes as “nature deficit disorder.” A growing body of evidence links a wide range of behavior and emotional problems to a … More Lists and friends for a better world
About twice a year I have the opportunity to visit one of my best friends, Dan the Man. We don’t take these times for granted, and try to make certain they are epic. Recently we rubbed shoulders over a 21 hour period, which will go down in history as one of our best times of … More 21 of the Best Hours Ever Spent. BIKE – EAT – RUN Triathlon.
Today I took a quick 22 mile cleansing spin on my bicycle. I lost my job due to corporate downsizing, and this was the first thing I could think of doing. My feelings ran along a range between elation over the newfound freedom and world of fresh new possibilities, to a dreading of impending doom … More A Cleansing Ride Moments After Losing My Job
I am totally obsessed with my compost these days. It started out with bucket after bucket of pulled dandelions needing to be hot composted rather than tossed in a pile to go anaerobic only to disperse their seeds a year from now. I’ve finally figured out the secret, and it certainly isn’t revolutionary or anything … More Geekin’ on Compost!
Ed's Big Adventure 